1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to optical fiber technology and more particularly, to an optical fiber module rack system, which comprises a rack having a plurality of accommodation chambers defined within a base panel and separated by partition plates, and a plurality of optical fiber storage boxes each comprising a hollow box body mounted in one respective accommodation chamber, a first optical fiber module and a second optical fiber module respectively mounted in opposing front and rear sides of the hollow box body, two guide rails respectively located at two opposite lateral sidewalls of the hollow box body and respectively coupled to a first sliding groove and a second sliding groove in the respective accommodation chamber, two elastic retainer strips respectively extended from two opposite ends of one guide rail, and an elongated press member extended from one end of the other guide rail.
2. Description of the Related Art
With rapid development of modern communications technology and the Internet, data centers and telecommunications providers are trying hard to provide relative equipment having the characteristics of high density, high transmission speed, high capacity and high intelligence. In order to meet the demands for faster data transmission speed, smaller footprint and lower energy consumption, the physical infrastructure of cabling system has been receiving more attention than ever before. Cable and optical fiber transmission systems are two important transmission media in a data center cabling system. When compared with a cable transmission system, an optical fiber transmission system has the advantages of wider bandwidth, faster transmission speed, longer transmission distance, thinner dimension, stronger anti-electromagnetic interference and better confidentiality. Optical fiber transmission system is bound to become the hottest trend in the future.
Further, a fiber optic adapter is a component widely used in optical fiber transmission systems for the connection of two optical fiber connectors at two fiber optic cables to mechanically couple and align the cores of fibers so that an optical signal can be maximally coupled from the fiber optic cable at the transmitter side to the fiber optic cable at the receiver side. A variety of optical fiber connectors are commercially available, but SC, LC and ST connectors are the most common types of connectors on the market. In order to reduce space occupation and to satisfy the requirements for high density installation, high transmission rate and high operating efficiency, multi-fiber (e.g., MPO/MTP) connectors such as MPO (Multifiber Push-On)/MTP (Multifiber Termination Push-on) connectors are used to replace larger, older styles (e.g., SC), allowing more fiber ports per unit of rack space. High density MTP/MPO trunk cables with at least 12 fibers or up to 24 fibers in a single cable. When mounting the optical fiber connectors of two fiber optic cables in a fiber optic adapter for connection, the polarity and connection compatibility between the two fiber optic cables must be accurately controlled to prevent optical signal transmission failure.
Regular rack mount optical fiber distribution panels include 1RU, 2RU, 4RU and 8RU. Basically, a 1RU rack has a width of 19 inches and a height of 1.72 inches, and equipped with multiple high density optical fiber modules therein in a detachable manner. One single MPO optical fiber module is adapted for converting a 12-core MPO connector into 12 single-core optical fiber connectors. Therefore, the rack has sockets arranged on the front panel thereof for the installation of 12 or 24 single-core optical fiber connectors, and one or two sockets arranged on the back panel thereof for the connection of one or two MPO connectors. A MPO optical fiber module has multiple optical fiber leads arranged therein for connecting the sockets at the front panel of the rack to the sockets at the back panel. After installation of a MPO optical fiber module in an optical fiber distribution panel, LC or SC optical fiber connectors can be selectively installation. The use of MPO optical fiber modules in a data center or computer room provides the advantages of flexible configuration and management. When wishing to change the quantity or positions of equipments or optical fiber connectors, the MPO optical fiber modules facilitate adding, removing or replacing the optical fiber connectors.
However, in order to satisfy MPO optical fiber module spatial arrangement requirements under the limitation of the specifications of a standard 1RU rack and to effectively solve the problem of insufficient number of transmission channels due to bandwidth restrictions, optical fiber module rack system manufacturers need to consider how to install a relatively larger number of optical fiber connectors in a limited installation space and how to facilitate MPO optical module mounting and dismounting convenience. Conventional techniques of mounting MPO optical fiber modules in a rack need to use a tool for driving screws into respective screw holes. Mounting MPO optical fiber modules in a rack or dismounting the MPO optical fiber modules from the rack in this manner requires much labor and time, thereby increasing the cost. Further, a data center or computer room has a large number of rack mount optical fiber distribution panels. Therefore, it is desirable to provide an optical fiber module rack system, which requires less installation space, facilitates mounting and dismounting of MPO optical fiber modules for convenient replacement and maintenance, and significantly saves installation labor and time.